USDA ends over $1 billion in funding for schools and local food purchases

 

USDA ends over $1 billion in funding for schools and local food purchases:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has eliminated two federal programs that spent more than $1 billion each year helping schools and food banks buy food from local farms and ranches, according to a report published Monday by a school group and Politico.

The School Nutrition Association, which represents cafeteria workers and directors nationwide, said in a press release that the USDA is eliminating the" Local Food for Schools Program" by 2025, which cost $660 million annually.

"Politico"quoted a USDA spokesperson as saying that the department is also eliminating the **Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program**, which provided about $500 million this year to help food banks.

The USDA declined to immediately comment on the cuts.

The program cuts are part of an aggressive effort by President "Donald Trump's administration to drastically reduce the size of the federal government and its spending.

The move comes as Trump has imposed new tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China, escalating trade wars with the countries that are the biggest buyers of U.S. agricultural products.

U.S. farmers and food organizations across the country are cutting staff and halting new investments as the USDA also freezes other grants and programs, farmers and agricultural advocacy groups told Reuters